Claremont McKenna University Student Newspaper: We Dissent

Dean Mary Spellman resigned from Claremont McKenna University over what is being called a "poorly worded email."

Of all the silly lunacies, this one might be the silliest.

A "minority" -- what sort of minority we don't know; racial, religious, or, as seems to me to be the most likely, "gender" -- wrote an email to Spellman about All the Feelings that he/she was having. Spellman attempted to help, but in doing so suggested that this student didn't fit "the CMC [Claremont McKenna College] mold."

"We have a lot to do as a college and a community. Would you be willing to talk to me about these issues?" Spellman wrote in her email. "They are important to me and the DOS staff and we are working on how we can better serve students, especially those that don’t fit our CMC mold."

Those last words--"CMC mold"--kickstarted a campaign to force Spellman out.

Of course they did. I can't argue that those words wouldn't be a bit of sting a bit who comes to you pre-loaded with an itch to be offended, but the message being sent was: I want to help you. Please tell me more.

That's all ignored to get what is really desired, a pretext for fresh righteous rage.

Well, the campaign to force her resignation worked, of course -- do not expect the virtue of courage among bureaucrats in state-funded universities. I can't imagine people who have made a more purposeful series of decisions to avoid risk and ensconce themselves in a safe sinecure.

Via Instapundit, a great Declaration of Independence from a student newspaper:

First, former Dean Mary Spellman. We are sorry that your career had to end this way, as the email in contention was a clear case of good intentions being overlooked because of poor phrasing. However, we are disappointed in you as well. We are disappointed that you allowed a group of angry students to bully you into resignation. We are disappointed that you taught Claremont students that reacting with emotion and anger will force the administration to act. We are disappointed that when two students chose to go on a hunger strike until you resigned, you didn’t simply say, "so what?" If they want to starve themselves, that's fine--you don’t owe them your job. We are disappointed that you and President Chodosh put up with students yelling and swearing at you for an hour. You could have made this a productive dialogue, but instead you humored the students and allowed them to get caught up in the furor.

Above all, we are disappointed that you and President Chodosh weren’t brave enough to come to the defense of a student who was told she was "derailing" because her opinions regarding racism didn’t align with those of the mob around her.

This seems to be a reference to an Asian student who had the temerity to note that blacks can be racist, too.

...

To our fellow Claremont students, we are disappointed in you as well. We are ashamed of you for trying to end someone’s career over a poorly worded email. This is not a political statement––this is a person’s livelihood that you so carelessly sought to destroy. We are disappointed that you chose to scream and swear at your administrators. That is not how adults solve problems, and your behavior reflects poorly on all of us here in Claremont. This is not who we are and this is not how we conduct ourselves, but this is the image of us that has now reached the national stage.

We are disappointed in your demands. If you want to take a class in "ethnic, racial, and sexuality theory," feel free to take one, but don’t force such an ideologically driven course on all CMC students. If the dearth of such courses at CMC bothers you, maybe you should have chosen a different school....

We are disappointed in the fact that your movement has successfully managed to convince its members that anyone who dissents does so not for intelligent reasons, but due to moral failure or maliciousness. We are disappointed that you've used phrases like "silence is violence" to not only demonize those who oppose you, but all who are not actively supporting you. We are most disappointed, however, in the rhetoric surrounding "safe spaces." College is the last place that should be a safe space....

Lastly, we are disappointed in students like ourselves, who were scared into silence. We are not racist for having different opinions. We are not immoral because we don’t buy the flawed rhetoric of a spiteful movement. We are not evil because we don’t want this movement to tear across our campuses completely unchecked.

We are no longer afraid to be voices of dissent.

Also via Instapundit, more scenes from the counterrevolution.

Some college students have had their fill of lunacy. It's about time.

posted by Ace at 01:19 PM

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